Fuel price hike means more money for scavengers<\/p>\n
Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post\/Cirebon<\/p>\n
While many people are feeling the bite from recent fuel price
\nincreases, Cirebon scavengers are finding it a blessing in
\ndisguise. Since the increase in fuel prices on March 1, their
\nearnings have increased dramatically due to higher prices being
\npaid by traders for waste materials.<\/p>\n
Waste materials traders in the Cirebon municipality and
\nregency said that the purchase price of waste materials,
\nespecially scrap iron, old plastic buckets and paper carton, had
\nincreased significantly.<\/p>\n
Many large waste materials yards are found in the Kesambi and
\nHarjamukti districts of Cirebon municipality, while those in
\nCirebon regency are mostly located in the Panguragan district.<\/p>\n
According to Yadi, a scrap trader in Kesambi, Cirebon, the
\nprice of scrap iron, which ranged from Rp 1,300 to Rp 1,400 per
\nkilogram previously, has now increased to Rp 1,700 to Rp 1,800
\nper kilogram. The price of old plastic pails, previously Rp 1,000
\nto Rp 1,200, has increased to Rp 1,400 to Rp 1,500. Paper carton
\nhas risen from Rp 800 to Rp 900 per kg, to Rp 1,000 to Rp 1,100
\nper kilogram.<\/p>\n
Scavenger Amin, 25, from Bungko village, Kapetakan district in
\nCirebon regency, spoke to The Jakarta Post about the price rises.<\/p>\n
"Prices for waste materials have risen since the government
\nraised fuel prices, and we don't know why. The rise in fuel
\nprices has become a blessing for us because we can sell scrap for
\nhigher prices than before," said Amin.<\/p>\n
Before the fuel price increases, Amin was earning Rp 25,000 to
\nRp 30,000 daily, but now he regularly brings home Rp 40,000 to Rp
\n60,000 a day. "If I'm lucky, I can even earn Rp 80,000 to Rp
\n100,000 a day," said Amin.<\/p>\n
Amin starts work at 8 a.m. every day, using a bicycle fitted
\nwith two large woven bamboo baskets. He pedals from one
\nresidential area to the other to obtain discards and waste
\nmaterials, and returns home at 5 p.m.<\/p>\n
Besides residential areas, he also goes to the garbage dump in
\nHarjamukti district, some 10 kilometers south of Cirebon city.<\/p>\n
"We have to pay for discarded scrap in residential areas, but
\nnot at the garbage dump where it's free, as long as we don't mind
\nscraping through garbage for scraps of iron, plastic pails or
\ncarton," said Amin, who has been eking out a living as a
\nscavenger for six years.<\/p>\n
He said that he obtained waste materials at low prices from
\nresidents. "The most I pay for a kilogram of scrap iron is Rp
\n600, for plastic buckets Rp 400, and for carton Rp 250 per
\nkilogram," said Amin.<\/p>\n
If he is lucky, he sometimes even gets scrap for free.<\/p>\n
"Residents might take pity on me, so they give me things for
\nfree. After taking the things, they sometimes ask me to tidy up
\nthe storage place," said Amin.<\/p>\n
A scavenger from Cangkol village in Cirebon city, Suyanto, 30,
\nsaid that his earnings had improved considerably since the fuel
\nprice increases.<\/p>\n
Like Amin, Suyanto also obtains discards by pedaling through
\nthe residential areas of the city.<\/p>\n
"I also go to housing complexes where there are always things
\nthat the occupants want to discard, perhaps due to their
\nextravagant lifestyle, of buying new things just to keep up with
\nthe latest trends. Besides that, I also scavenge for reusable
\nobjects at the garbage dump," said Suyanto.<\/p>\n
Suyanto said that he could bring home between Rp 40,000 and Rp
\n50,000 a day, considerably higher than before the fuel price
\nhike.<\/p>\n
"I could only earn Rp 20,000 to Rp 30,000 per day before the
\nfuel price increases," he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/fuel-price-hike-means-more-money-for-scavengers-1447893297",
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